Dear Editor,
As Canada’s MPs head back to Ottawa, readers should know they will soon be wrestling with a bill to reform Canadian copyright law that will impact the vibrancy of Canadian values and heritage reflected in Canadian schools.
At issue is Bill C-32 and proposed “exceptions” from copyright for educators. At first glance it could appear positive. Schools won’t have to pay to make reproductions of textbooks and other materials developed to meet the requirements of provincial curricula. They will save money today. But Canadian children will be losers, tomorrow.
Canada’s values and heritage are reflected in Canadian schools because Canadian-based publishers and authors develop materials to populate the curriculum of your school system with local examples and relevant Canadian content.
Put most starkly, Canadian children learn to spell Yellowknife before Yellowstone because these folks invest money and creativity in the expectation of compensation when their work is used.
Right now, schools and universities pay licences to reproduce educational resources en masse. They often prefer to make reproductions instead of purchasing more originals. It’s cheaper. But under C-32, they may not even have to compensate publishers and authors for that.
Under C-32 not only could existing revenues from mass reproduction dry up, the market for new texts could be irreversibly damaged. Instead of purchasing multiple class sets, school boards may be able to purchase fewer books and then replicate them with no compensation for creators.
Who will want to invest in Canadian educational materials under these rules?
This is not about school children making copies of their favourite poems: the education exceptions may permit mass, high-volume copying (equivalent to millions of books every year) without compensation to the creators and publishers who invested their creativity, skill, money and effort to produce this content. Educators around the world, including in the U.S., need to buy licences to engage in this activity.
Canada’s Creative Industry has lined up in opposition to C-32. Across Canada, songwriters, performers, artists, authors, publishers, and the groups that represent them, have voiced alarm over C-32.
Parents and taxpayers should also be concerned about the future of Canadian values and heritage in Canadian schools.
Maureen Cavan, Executive Director of Access Copyright
